Alan Chaffee Obituary

Alan L. Chaffee, a longtime resident of Westford, passed away peacefully at Bridges by Epoch in Westford, on August 6, 2024, surrounded by his loving family. He was the beloved husband of Judith V. Chaffee with whom he enjoyed 35 years of marriage.
He was born in Springfield on June 10, 1941, and was the son of the late Malvern and Viola (Fortin) Chaffee.
Alan grew up and was educated in Springfield, MA. It is also where he met his first wife, Maureen. He went on to graduate with a degree in Electrical Engineering from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. He worked for RCA, Burlington, MA, Avco Everett Research Laboratory, Everett, MA, and Raytheon Company, Andover, MA. He moved to Westford in 1972 with his wife and young daughters and became involved in many activities within St. Catherine's Church. Along with a friend, he started the first children's choir, where his daughters and stepdaughters were also involved. Eileen played guitar beside him, while Kathleen, Kimberly, and Tricia sang. Alan was part of the Parish Committee that would run family activities for parishioners. Along with another couple they ran a teen prayer group, and also with Maureen, taught Pre-Cana to engaged couples. In his later years he was a eucharistic minister for the church, participating at masses as well as visiting house bound elderly parishioners.
Alan was an avid photographer who took pictures everywhere he went. He also has taken pictures for the Westford Regency as it was being built, and other establishments in Westford. He was an animal lover, and bird enthusiast; he loved vacations to Cape Cod with his family as they were growing up, and he enjoyed traveling with Judy, especially to visit Kathleen and her family in New Mexico, and Matthew and his family in Texas. One of his favorite past-times, and a lifelong hobby was being a HAM radio operator (W1GXH). He started back in high school when he and his dad put together the equipment to get him started. In fact, his family even pitched in to purchase a telephone pole for his antenna! Then life got busy, and he stopped. In 2006, during his retirement, he built a new station at his home in Westford where he spent many enjoyable hours talking with a lot of different people around the world.
In addition to his loving wife Judith, he is survived by his daughters, Eileen (Chaffee) Barrett and her children, James Jr., Jennifer, and Julia of Westford, Kathleen (Chaffee) Briley, her husband, Ron and their children, Shane, Meghan (Benjamin Timm), and Ross of Albuquerque; his step-children, Mark Kelly and his wife Roxanne and their children, Keric (Samantha) and Conor (Stephanie) of Billerica, Tricia Randall and her husband Butch and their children, Emily, Ray, and Kaylee of Agawam, and Matthew Kelly and his children, Nolan, Peyton and Calvin of Houston; his niece, Susan (Grasso) Sims of Crofton, MD, his nephew, Michael A. Grasso of Franklin, and their families. Alan was blessed with beautiful 14 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren that he loved very much.
Alan was predeceased by his first wife, Maureen (Macdonald) Chaffee; his in-laws, James and Mae Macdonald; his stepdaughter, Kimberly (Kelly) Brown; and his son-in-law, James Barrett.
Visiting hours will be held on Friday, August 16, 2024, from 9:30 am to 11:00 am at the Blake Chelmsford Funeral Home, 24 Worthen Street, Chelmsford. His funeral service will be held in the funeral home on Friday at 11 am following the visitation. Interment in Fairview Cemetery, Westford. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his memory to the Westford Ambulance Fund, PO Box 197, Westford, MA 01886.